Canis Major
by Blossomwitch
Summary: A collection of short stories concerning Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. The two surviving Marauders have a complex relationship, deserving of several different looks. Some stories will be friendship, some slash. Latest story: Set after GoF, Remus is almost relieved to find that Sirius isn't coping as well as he appears to be.
1. The Months of Grimmauld Place

**The Months of Grimmauld Place**

The first month Remus lived at 12 Grimmauld Place, he wouldn't even listen when Sirius made the suggestion.

The second month he listened to the suggestion, but only because Sirius put Remus into a chair and then stood in front of him while he talked. There was a tension to Sirius, almost a mania, that made Remus wonder if the suggestion was really supposed to benefit him after all, or if it was because Sirius wanted it. Either way, Remus' answer was still no, and he still wouldn't discuss it. Eventually Sirius threw his hands up and let Remus out of the chair and they went on with things, but they were stiff with each other for a few days.

The third month Sirius managed to get under Remus' skin, so he took the bait and they had a blazing row over it. Remus said Grimmauld Place was the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix and he couldn't possibly be as selfish as Sirius was suggesting. Sirius said it was his damn house, and he could do what he wanted. Remus said it was much too dangerous, as someone could come to headquarters in the middle of the night. Sirius said they could warn people. Remus said he didn't care to have the whole Order think he was behaving so incredibly selfishly as to take over headquarters for his personal use. Sirius said he could do with acting selfish once in awhile, and did he have to keep telling Remus that it was Sirius' house and he ought to be able to have _some_ control over it. Remus said he didn't want to remind everyone, even though he knew they all knew, he didn't want to shove it in everyone's faces every month that he was a werewolf. Sirius said he couldn't leave the house, that even Remus wasn't there most of the time, and he was lonely, and this was something he could _do_, and didn't Remus miss...?

Sirius left the room at that point. There were too many emotions surfacing. Later, in the quiet hours of the evening, Remus came to him and said yes, I miss it. But the Order. And Sirius said, hang the Order. It's my house.

From month four onward, an extra set of protective charms were placed on the house during the night of the full moon. A note was also placed on the door: "This house set aside for the use of Messrs Padfoot and Moony. Those not wishing to contract lycanthropy will kindly return after sunrise."

The furniture survived relatively well, all things considered, although the stairs got a tremendous amount of wear as the wolf and dog chased each other up and down the floors. Mrs. Black's portrait acquired claw marks, which both men adamantly claimed credit for despite there only being one set of marks. Sirius was never happier than on the day after the full moon, and though Remus could never truly be said to be happy on that day, he looked considerably healthier than anyone could remember seeing him.

The month of Sirius' death, the sign did not appear on the door of 12 Grimmauld Place. There was no sound of thundering paws from within, no sharp bark of canine laughter. But somewhere not too far away, a solitary wolf could be heard howling and keening to the wind.


	2. Who Is This James?

_A/N: And now for something lighter, a brief case of mistaken identity during the Marauder years_

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><p>Remus was walking back to the castle from Care of Magical Creatures when he was attacked.<p>

He knew instantly that it was his own fault for lagging behind. He should have known better than to get separated from the herd this close to the weekend, when gleefully pranking Gryffindors were found in abundance. In fact, Remus was so familiar with the habits of his own particular set of gleefully pranking Gryffindors that being tackled by something completely invisible and dragged toward the Forbidden Forest caused him no alarm. "James!" he said in an exasperated tone. "You hurt my knee."

"James? James?" replied an indignant voice that did not, upon reflection, belong to James.

"Sorry. But seeing as how you're invisible and have apparently stolen his cloak, you have to admit it was a pretty good guess-"

"Who is this James?" Sirius demanded, gaining the edge of the forest and pushing Remus up against a tree.

"Rather dashing fellow, actually."

Sirius' response was swift and predictable-he kissed Remus. Not just any kiss; the kiss of a man whose boyfriend had just mistaken him for his best friend, and then complimented said friend. The kiss of someone with a point to make.

"Now who do you think I am?" Sirius asked when they came up for air.

"Sirius," Remus replied with a smile, not bothering to open his eyes.

"And who's this James fellow?"

"Never heard of him."

Sirius grinned. "Damn right."


	3. Obedience Training

_A/N: I hope to get some longer stories in this collection soon, but for now, here's a quick drabble set at the Potters' wedding._

Obedience Training (drabble)

Toward the very end of her wedding reception, Lily Potter tore herself away from her new husband for long enough to approach the best man. "I'm almost not sure it's you, Sirius. Are you really and truly going to let James' wedding go by without a prank?"

"It's your wedding day, too," Sirius replied. "Even I have some respect."

Lily thought this over. Then she went to find Remus. "No pranks?"

"Not a one." He looked pleased with himself.

"What did you have to promise Sirius for a reward?"

Remus pinked slightly. "Lily, my dear, you don't want to know."


	4. Acceptable Behavior

**Acceptable Behavior**

_(A/N: This is meant to take place somewhere between the end of book 4 and the beginning of book 5)_

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><p>The first time they slept together after Azkaban, Remus woke up in the middle of the night with Sirius screaming in his ear.<p>

Remus flailed, trying to simultaneously kick off the covers, grab his wand, and shove Sirius out of whatever danger they were in. What he actually succeeded in was pulling the covers askew, knocking his wand onto the floor, and waking Sirius up.

Sirius shot bolt upright, then became still, looking at Remus with a look of terrible confusion. "Where am I?"

It took Remus a few heartbeats to put everything together. Then he realized there were not, in fact, Death Eaters pouring through the door, and that Sirius had not, in fact, been reacting to anything that could hurt them in the here and now. "My place," Remus said, keeping his tone as calm and casual as he could. "With me," he added, when the blank, empty look on Sirius' face didn't go away. But it was no good; a stranger still looked out at him from Sirius' eyes. "You're not in Azkaban."

Only then did an expression of comprehension slide onto Sirius' face. It was a slow slide. Remus busied himself with fixing the blankets so they were aligned with the bed again. "Sorry," Sirius said, without much inflection. "Sometimes when I wake up I forget where I am."

"So I see." Remus lay back down. "Are you coming back to sleep?"

Sirius lay down, but he was looking at Remus with a furrowed brow. "I have the impression I woke you up shouting... and I also have the impression you don't mind."

"Honestly, I'm a bit relieved." Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Since you showed up here, you've acted almost exactly the same as you used to. At least, you seem that way to me. And I know that no one, not even you, can go through twelve years of Azkaban and come out unchanged. I've been starting to worry that there were problems you weren't showing me, or maybe problems you weren't even showing yourself. Now that I know you're just going to scream in my ear in the middle of the night, I feel better."

Sirius started to laugh. He pulled Remus into his arms and kissed his temple. "Not too shabby for a dozen years in Azkaban."

"Perfectly within the range of acceptable behaviors. I imagine I'll be sleeping through it in no time. Unless you wanted to talk about it."

"You learn to sleep through it," Sirius said firmly.

"I thought you would say that, but you know I did have to offer."

"Yes. Go to sleep." Sirius kissed his temple again, and neither of them spoke again. Remus didn't fall back asleep, however; it was pointless to even try with Sirius holding onto him so tightly that he couldn't move so much as half an inch. He just lay there, being quiet and being close, and when it was light Sirius was himself again and they went on with the new pattern of their lives.


End file.
